The Honourable Anita Anand was appointed as Canada’s Minister of Transport in September of 2024, and environmental activists are hoping that she will be the voice of reason to create positive change regarding cruise ship-caused pollution in Canadian waters.
Representatives from Stand.earth, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter (CPAWS-BC), and the Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) visited the Department of Fisheries and Oceans offices to deliver an open letter to Anand in the hopes of charting a greener path forward.
The letter primarily takes a stance against the interim Order loopholes – which were renewed on June 10, 2024. The voices behind the letter claim that the Order allows for practices that harm marine animals and habitats without the inclusion of key changes.
“The renewed Interim Order stipulates that sewage and greywater released from cruise ships may not be released within 3 nautical miles offshore, and if released between 3 to 12 nautical miles offshore, the waste water must be treated to meet a standard fecal coliform count of 14/100mL, must not contain visible solids, leave a sheen, or leave a sludge or emulsion, nor create water discoloration under the surface or on the shoreline,” the letter states.
However, the Order still does not give guidance regarding marine vessel scrubbers and highly toxic wastewater from scrubbers – which the letter says contributes between 40-98% of contaminants in habitats where endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales reside.
The people behind the letter are also calling for greater clarity surrounding geographic exemptions and limitations, as well as protections for areas outside of the 12 nautical mile radius – which the letter describes as “unregulated toilet bowls.”
“These areas fall within the Internal Waters of Canada and large parts of them will form part of the proposed Great Bear Sea marine protected area (MPA) Network and thus Canada can and should be protecting these areas from cruise ship discharges,” continued the letter.
They follow this up with a request for stricter protocols on when and where cruise ships are allowed to discharge sewage and greywater to better preserve protected habitats – noting that “Canada has a responsibility and moral obligation to prioritize protecting its coastal biodiversity.”
Additionally, the letter writers called for guidance on what would be considered an adequate tank size for cruise ships to store all sewage and greywater produced during a sailing.
The activists’ top demand was that all cruise ships should be able and legally required to store all waste produced during the voyage onboard, which could eliminate – or at least significantly minimize – the need to discharge waste in Canadian waters.
Widespread Concern About Cruising’s Environmental Impact
The Canadians who wrote this letter are not the only people who are worried about cruise ship-related pollution – with protests occurring globally and some ports restricting cruise ship arrivals.
Barcelona, Spain, which is the most polluted port in Europe, began enforcing its partial cruise ship ban in October of 2023 to limit exhaust gases in the city center – with Mayor Jaume Collboni announcing in May 2024 that he supports further restricting cruise tourism.
This is just one example of several ports that have existing cruise ship bans or are currently seeking cruise ship restrictions.
More recently, protestors from the Extinction Rebellion Group and Stop Croisières have been blocking cruise ship calls throughout Europe – leading to missed port calls and extensive delays.
Extinction Rebellion and Stop Croisières Blocks Cruise Ships in Marseille (Photo Credit: Stop Croisières)
Throughout August and September, the environmental activists impacted multiple sailings across Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, and Ambassador Cruise Line.
Read Also: Cruise Industry on Track for 2050 Environmental Goals
That said, cruise ships don’t only bring doom and gloom to the ports they visit around the world. Instead, they deliver a significant boost to local economies.
To address the matter at hand, the cruise industry as a whole has pledged to become more environmentally friendly – and has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
In fact, many cruise lines have already started working toward carbon neutrality by enabling their ships to plug into shore power while in port – allowing vessels to turn off their engines while docked.
Many mainstream brands have also started building new ships with LNG-powered engines, which is a greener fuel alternative that drastically cuts the emission of sulfur, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxide.
Plus, cruise lines have implemented greener practices onboard – such as how Norwegian Cruise line rolled out sustainable serving ware for room service orders in August.
Source: Cruisehive.com
